The Samaritans – Saira (1989, UK) [4K Upscale]
A woman stands alone against a dimly-lit grey wall. By the troubled look she has on her face, she quite clearly has something on her mind. She tries confiding in us, however, her cries of anguish are replaced by a harsh, loud, and inaudible screeching sound. As the screeching sound gets louder, she becomes more and more fraught, as the desperation to be understood grows between her as well as us. Before the end, the camera slowly pans away from her to reveal her standing by herself in the corner of a room, revealing text that reads 'Samaritans', and then the word 'Understand' replacing it. The loud inaudible screeching was thus a metaphor for a person desperately trying to say what's on their mind, but either not being listened to or being understood properly – and so they may as well have not been speaking any comprehensible language at all.
Director: Michael Seresin
Production Company: BFCS
Art Director: Fergus Fleming
Copywriter: Simon Dicketts
Account Director: Mark Cunningham
Agency TV Producer: Martha Greene
Music: Arthur Louis
Client Supervisor: Simon Armson
Cameraman: Michael Seresin
Lighting: Michael Seresin
Post House: The Moving Picture Company
Film Processing Lab: Technicolor
Music Studio: Nova Studios
Film Opticals: Mike Uden
Winner of a Bronze British Arrows Award 1990. Rated 15.
Upscaled into 4K using AI software.